U.S. patent application number 16/151030 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-31 for random access method of devices with different path loss.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Frank Anton LANE, Junyi LI, Xiao Feng WANG.
Application Number | 20190037557 16/151030 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54291663 |
Filed Date | 2019-01-31 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190037557 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LI; Junyi ; et al. |
January 31, 2019 |
RANDOM ACCESS METHOD OF DEVICES WITH DIFFERENT PATH LOSS
Abstract
A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for
wireless communication are provided. According to one embodiment, a
method of operating a device includes: selecting a signal format
from a plurality of signal formats, each of the plurality of signal
formats corresponding to a respective coding and modulation scheme
of a plurality of coding and modulation schemes; and sending a
request for random access to a base station according to the
selected signal format.
Inventors: |
LI; Junyi; (Chester, NJ)
; LANE; Frank Anton; (Easton, PA) ; WANG; Xiao
Feng; (San Diego, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54291663 |
Appl. No.: |
16/151030 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14553980 |
Nov 25, 2014 |
10104645 |
|
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16151030 |
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62062126 |
Oct 9, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 74/0833 20130101;
H04W 4/50 20180201; H04L 5/0092 20130101; H04L 1/1887 20130101;
H04W 72/0413 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20060101
H04W072/04; H04W 74/08 20060101 H04W074/08 |
Claims
1. A method of operating a device, comprising: selecting, by the
device, a signal format for a request for random access, wherein
the signal format is selected from a plurality of signal formats
based on a transmission-power capability of the device, a path loss
between the device and a base station, or both, each of the
plurality of signal formats corresponding to a respective coding
and modulation scheme of a plurality of coding and modulation
schemes such that the signal format selected by the device
corresponds to a first coding and modulation scheme of the
plurality of coding and modulation schemes; and sending, by the
device, the request for random access to the base station according
to the selected signal format.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of signal
formats further corresponds to a predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources, wherein the method
further comprises selecting a time and frequency resource from the
predetermined set of non-overlapping time and frequency resources
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device, and
wherein sending the request comprises sending the request for
random access using a selected time and frequency resource.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving a signal
from the base station; and recovering an allocation control message
from the signal, wherein the allocation control message specifies
the signal formats corresponding to the predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of signal formats
further corresponds to a predetermined set of time and frequency
resources, wherein the method further comprises selecting a time
and frequency resource from the predetermined set of time and
frequency resources, and wherein sending the request comprises
sending the request for random access using a selected time and
frequency resource.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the path
loss between the device and the base station, and wherein a first
signal format for the request for random access is associated with
a first time duration for transmission of the request for random
access from the device to the base station and wherein a second
different signal format for the request for random access is
associated with a second longer time duration for transmission of
the request for random access from the device to the base
station.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of signal formats
is for Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)
signals or Single-Carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access
(SC-FDMA) signals, wherein the first time duration corresponds to a
predetermined number of symbols, wherein a second time duration
corresponds to a different number of symbols and wherein a
predetermined frequency bandwidth corresponds to a predetermined
number of subcarriers.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising storing the path loss
at the device to facilitate a subsequent request for random
access.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to the first signal format of the plurality of signal
formats and the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to a
second signal format of the plurality of signal formats are
different from each other.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the signal format is selected
such that a robustness of the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device is
commensurate with the path loss between the device and the base
station.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the signal format is selected
further such that, if the path loss is less than a threshold value,
the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to the signal format
selected by the device is less robust than the coding and
modulation scheme corresponding to the second signal format of the
plurality of signal formats.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the signal format is selected
further such that, if the path loss is greater than a threshold
value, the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to the signal
format selected by the device is more robust than the coding and
modulation scheme corresponding to the second signal format of the
plurality of signal formats.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the signal
format selected by the device to facilitate a subsequent request
for random access.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for random access is
sent to facilitate sending of an Internet of Things (IoT)
communication to the base station.
14. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory;
and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
select a signal format for a request for random access, wherein the
signal format is selected from a plurality of signal formats based
on a transmission-power capability of the apparatus for wireless
communication, a path loss between the apparatus and a base
station, or both, each of the plurality of signal formats
corresponding to a respective coding and modulation scheme of a
plurality of coding and modulation schemes such that the signal
format selected by the device corresponds to a first coding and
modulation scheme of the plurality of coding and modulation
schemes; and send the request for random access to the base station
according to the signal format selected by the device.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further
configured to determine the path loss between the apparatus and the
base station, and wherein a first signal format for the request for
random access is associated with a first time duration for
transmission of the request for random access from the apparatus to
the base station and wherein a second different signal format for
the request for random access is associated with a second longer
time duration for transmission of the request for random access
from the apparatus to the base station.
16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the signal format is
selected such that a robustness of the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device is
commensurate with the path loss between the apparatus and the base
station, and wherein the signal format is selected further such
that, if the path loss is less than a threshold value, the coding
and modulation scheme corresponding to the signal format selected
by the device is less robust than the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to a second signal format of the plurality of signal
formats.
17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of
signal formats further corresponds to a predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources, wherein the method
further comprises selecting a time and frequency resource from the
predetermined set of non-overlapping time and frequency resources
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device, and
wherein sending the request comprises sending the request for
random access using a selected time and frequency resource.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor
is further configured to: receive a signal from the base station;
and recover an allocation control message from the signal, wherein
the allocation control message specifies the signal formats
corresponding to the predetermined set of non-overlapping time and
frequency resources.
19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of signal
formats further corresponds to a predetermined set of time and
frequency resources, wherein the method further comprises selecting
a time and frequency resource from the predetermined set of time
and frequency resources, and wherein sending the request comprises
sending the request for random access using a selected time and
frequency resource.
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality of signal
formats is for Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access
(OFDMA) signals or Single-Carrier Frequency-Division Multiple
Access (SC-FDMA) signals, wherein the first time duration
corresponds to a predetermined number of symbols, wherein a second
time duration corresponds to a different number of symbols and
wherein a predetermined frequency bandwidth corresponds to a
predetermined number of subcarriers.
21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor
is further configured to: store the path loss at the device to
facilitate a subsequent request for random access.
22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the coding and modulation
scheme corresponding to the first signal format of the plurality of
signal formats and the coding and modulation scheme corresponding
to a second signal format of the plurality of signal formats are
different from each other.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the signal format is
selected such that a robustness of the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device is
commensurate with the path loss between the device and the base
station.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the signal format is
selected further such that, if the path loss is greater than a
threshold value, the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to
the signal format selected by the device is more robust than the
coding and modulation scheme corresponding to the second signal
format of the plurality of signal formats.
25. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising storing the
signal format selected by the device to facilitate a subsequent
request for random access.
26. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the request for random
access is sent to facilitate sending of an Internet of Things (IoT)
communication to the base station.
27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for
selecting, by the device, a signal format for a request for random
access, wherein the signal format is selected from a plurality of
signal formats based on a transmission-power capability of the
device, a path loss between the device and a base station, or both,
each of the plurality of signal formats corresponding to a
respective coding and modulation scheme of a plurality of coding
and modulation schemes such that the signal format selected by the
device corresponds to a first coding and modulation scheme of the
plurality of coding and modulation schemes; and means for sending,
by the device, the request for random access to the base station
according to the selected signal format.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising: means for
determining the path loss between the apparatus and the base
station, and wherein a first signal format for the request for
random access is associated with a first time duration for
transmission of the request for random access from the apparatus to
the base station and wherein a second different signal format for
the request for random access is associated with a second longer
time duration for transmission of the request for random access
from the apparatus to the base station.
29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the signal format is
selected such that a robustness of the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to the signal format selected by the device is
commensurate with the path loss between the apparatus and the base
station, and wherein the signal format is selected further such
that, if the path loss is less than a threshold value, the coding
and modulation scheme corresponding to the signal format selected
by the device is less robust than the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to a second signal format of the plurality of signal
formats.
30. A computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for
wireless communication, comprising code to: select a signal format
for a request for random access, wherein the signal format is
selected from a plurality of signal formats based on a
transmission-power capability of the apparatus for wireless
communication, a path loss between the apparatus and a base
station, or both, each of the plurality of signal formats
corresponding to a respective coding and modulation scheme of a
plurality of coding and modulation schemes such that the signal
format selected by the device corresponds to a first coding and
modulation scheme of the plurality of coding and modulation
schemes; and send the request for random access to the base station
according to the signal format selected by the device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/553,980, entitled "RANDOM ACCESS METHOD OF DEVICES WITH
DIFFERENT PATH LOSS" and filed on Nov. 25, 2014, which claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/062,126,
entitled "RANDOM ACCESS METHOD OF DEVICES WITH DIFFERENT PATH LOSS"
and filed on Oct. 9, 2014, the entire contents of both of which are
expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication
systems, and, more particularly, to mobile communication systems
for supporting applications that may require relatively low
throughput (e.g., Internet of Things (IoT) applications).
Background
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to
provide various telecommunication services such as telephony,
video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless
communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies
capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing
available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power).
Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division
multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access
(TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems,
orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems,
single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA)
systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple
access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in
various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol
that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a
municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example of
an emerging telecommunication standard is Long Term Evolution
(LTE). LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by
Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE is designed to
better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving
spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use
of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards
using OFDMA on the downlink (DL), SC-FDMA on the uplink (UL), and
multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to aspects of the disclosure, a mobile
communication system that operates according to one or more of the
noted standards is utilized to support an application that may
require relatively low throughput (e.g., an IoT application).
[0006] In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer program
product, and an apparatus are provided. According to one
embodiment, a method of operating a device includes: selecting a
signal format from a plurality of signal formats, each of the
plurality of signal formats corresponding to a respective coding
and modulation scheme of a plurality of coding and modulation
schemes; and sending a request for random access to a base station
according to the selected signal format.
[0007] According to one embodiment, a method of operating a base
station includes: monitoring a predetermined set of time and
frequency resources to receive a request for random access from a
device; determining a signal format of the request from among a
plurality of signal formats, each of the plurality of signal
formats corresponding to a respective coding and modulation scheme
of a plurality of coding and modulation schemes; and recovering the
request based on the determined signal format.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access
network.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of sending a
request for random access.
[0010] FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate examples of time-frequency
resource utilization.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of operating a
device.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of operating a base
station.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the
data flow between different modules/means/components in an
exemplary apparatus.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware
implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the
data flow between different modules/means/components in an
exemplary apparatus.
[0016] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware
implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The detailed description set forth below in connection with
the appended drawings is intended as a description of various
configurations and is not intended to represent the configurations
in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The
detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of
providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts
may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances,
well known structures and components are shown in block diagram
form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.
[0018] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be
presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These
apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed
description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various
blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes,
algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These
elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer
software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are
implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular
application and design constraints imposed on the overall
system.
[0019] By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element,
or any combination of elements may be implemented with a
"processing system" that includes one or more processors. Examples
of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital
signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),
programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic,
discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured
to perform the various functionality described throughout this
disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may
execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean
instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,
programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software
applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,
executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.,
whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode,
hardware description language, or otherwise.
[0020] Accordingly, in one or more exemplary embodiments, the
functions described may be implemented in hardware, software,
firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software,
the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more
instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.
Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage
media may be any available media that can be accessed by a
computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such
computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM),
a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM
(EEPROM), compact disk ROM (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program
code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be
accessed by a computer. Combinations of the above should also be
included within the scope of computer-readable media.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access
network 100. In this example, the access network 100 is divided
into a number of cellular regions (cells) 102. Each evolved Node B
(eNB) 104 may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The term
"cell" can refer to the smallest coverage area of an eNB and/or an
eNB subsystem serving a particular coverage area. The eNB 104 may
also be referred to as a base station, a Node B, an access point, a
base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio
transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an
extended service set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology.
Further, the terms "eNB," "base station," and "cell" may be used
interchangeably herein.
[0022] The base station 104 provides an access point (e.g., to an
evolved packet core (EPC)) for a device 106. Each of the devices
106 may be in communication with one or more of the base stations
104. According to aspects of the disclosure, the device 106 may be
a device configured to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT)
network. Such a device may conduct data transfers that are
infrequent and/or short in length. For example, for a particular
application, the device 106 may conduct data transfers once per
hour or once every few hours, or may send 20 to 100 bytes in a
particular data transfer.
[0023] Examples of devices 106 in an IoT network may include user
equipment (UEs) such as heart monitoring implants, biochip
transponders, communication devices installed in kitchen
appliances, and smart thermostat devices that may be installed in
open environments.
[0024] Although devices 106 are described in this disclosure with
respect to an IoT network, it is understood that other examples of
the device 106 may include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a
session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal
digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning
system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player
(e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, or any
other similar functioning device. The device 106 may also be
referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a
subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless
unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless
communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber
station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless
terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile
client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.
[0025] The modulation and multiple access scheme employed by the
access network 100 may vary depending on the particular
telecommunications standard being deployed. In LTE applications,
OFDM is used on the DL and SC-FDMA is used on the UL to support
both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex
(TDD). As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate from the
detailed description to follow, the various concepts presented
herein are well suited for LTE applications. However, these
concepts may be readily extended to other telecommunication
standards employing other modulation and multiple access
techniques. By way of example, these concepts may be extended to
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB).
EV-DO and UMB are air interface standards promulgated by the 3rd
Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000
family of standards and employs CDMA to provide broadband Internet
access to mobile stations. These concepts may also be extended to
Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) employing Wideband-CDMA
(W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA, such as TD-SCDMA; Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM) employing TDMA; and Evolved
UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE
802.20, and Flash-OFDM employing OFDMA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and
GSM are described in documents from the 3GPP organization. CDMA2000
and UMB are described in documents from the 3GPP2 organization. The
actual wireless communication standard and the multiple access
technology employed will depend on the specific application and the
overall design constraints imposed on the system.
[0026] Cellular systems operating in licensed spectrum may have
some important potential advantages compared with alternative
technologies (e.g., technologies using unlicensed spectrum). For
example, a cellular system can re-use existing base station
infrastructure and licensed spectrum. In principle, this should
allow such a system to achieve a significantly better link budget,
quality of service, scalability, and ease of deployment with
respect to systems that attempt to use licensed-exempt (or
unlicensed) spectrum.
[0027] However, the re-use of existing cellular infrastructure and
spectrum for a particular application may raise certain
considerations. For example, the nature and requirements of the
particular application may be different (or even substantially
different) from the applications for which the existing cellular
systems were designed and optimized. For example, in the case of an
IoT application, a typical traffic model for low throughput devices
may require that the IoT network primarily support infrequent
and/or small data transfers for each device (for example, data
transfers occurring once per hour or once every few hours, data
transfers having a size of 20 to 100 bytes).
[0028] In the case of an IoT application, an additional
consideration may be related to UE cost. For example, it may be
preferable that the cost of a UE be kept much lower than a UE
typically associated with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). In
this regard, the preferred cost of the UE may be closer to
Bluetooth Smart and Zigbee than current GPRS solutions. Another
consideration may be related to battery life. For example, it may
be preferable that battery life be prolonged compared with GPRS. In
this regard, the preferred battery life may be on the order of many
years, assuming reasonable traffic models. Yet another
consideration may be related to cellular coverage. For example, it
may be preferable that indoor coverage be enhanced compared with
GPRS. In this regard, it may be contemplated that: UEs may be
located deep indoors; the UEs may remain stationary in poor
coverage locations; and/or the UEs may have rather poorly
functioning antennas due to form-factor and other cost
constraints.
[0029] According to aspects of the disclosure, a random access of a
base station is configured to address one or more of the above
considerations.
[0030] Regarding random access, in a cellular system, a set of
resource blocks may be used by a UE to perform initial system
access and achieve UL synchronization. A request for random access
may include a random access preamble that occupies a particular
bandwidth. The transmission of the random access preamble may be
restricted to certain time and frequency resources.
[0031] In a typical cellular system such as LTE, a UE sends a
request for random access in order to access a base station.
Specifically, the UE receives a downlink signal from the base
station and measures the strength of the signal to determine the
transmit power of a random access signal. Open loop power control
is employed such that the UE targets a given receive power of the
random access signal at the base station. Furthermore, the
modulation and coding scheme of the random access signal that is
sent by the UE is fixed so as to simplify processing at the base
station receiver.
[0032] The design described in the previous paragraph may be
effective for those systems in which the UEs may be phones or
smartphones and/or systems in which requests for random access
constitute a minor overhead (e.g., a relatively small portion of
the entire communication session between the UE and the base
station).
[0033] However, for other systems (e.g., IoT systems), the noted
design may not be quite as effective. This may be because the
payload size of the IoT system is usually very small, e.g., on the
order of 100 bytes for each data transaction. As a result, requests
for random access may constitute a more significant portion of the
entire communication session between the UE and the base station.
As such, aspects of the disclosure are directed towards optimizing
the random access design for IoT and other applications. In
particular, certain aspects are directed toward optimizing (e.g.,
reducing) battery power consumption. To a certain extent (which may
be considerable), battery power consumption may depend on the
duration(s) of time during which the UE transmits data.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of sending a
request for random access. With reference to FIG. 2, the device 206
sends a request 208 for random access to the base station 204. The
device 206 may be an IoT UE.
[0035] Before sending the request 208, the device 206 may determine
a path loss between the device and the base station 204. The path
loss reflects an attenuation of an electromagnetic wave as it
propagates from/to the device 206 to/from the base station 204. The
path loss may be measured in a manner similar to the manner in
which a GPRS UE measures path loss. For example, the device 206 may
determine the path loss by averaging measurements of the downlink
Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). In this regard, the device
206 may measure signals transmitted by the base station 204. The
measurements may involve calculating a running average of the
measured signal power over a fixed time period.
[0036] The determined path loss may be used to send the request 208
for random access. In addition, the determined path loss may be
stored at the device 206 to facilitate a subsequent request for
access.
[0037] For sending the request for random access, the device 206
selects a signal format from two or more signal formats (e.g.,
signal formats 210, 212). Each of the signal formats may correspond
to a respective coding and modulation scheme (e.g., a different
coding and modulation scheme). Also, each of the signal formats may
correspond to a predetermined frequency bandwidth. Also, each of
the signal formats may correspond to a respective time duration.
The time duration of a given signal format may depend on its
corresponding coding and modulation scheme.
[0038] For example, the time duration may correspond to a
predetermined number of symbols, and may be different for the
signal formats (e.g., signal formats 210, 212 of FIG. 2).
Accordingly, transmitting the request 208 may require a shorter or
longer duration of time depending on the signal format that is
selected. With reference to FIG. 2, the signal format 212
corresponds to a time duration that is twice as long as the time
duration corresponding to the signal format 210. Therefore, if the
signal format 212 is selected and the request 208 is sent according
to the signal format 212, the time required to transmit the request
208 will be twice as long relative to the situation in which the
signal format 210 is selected and the request 208 is sent according
to the signal format 210.
[0039] The predetermined frequency bandwidth may correspond to a
predetermined number of sub carriers.
[0040] With respect to the different coding and modulation schemes
of the signal format, a first signal format (e.g., signal format
212) may be more robust than a second signaling format (e.g.,
signal format 210). For example, binary phase shift keying (BPSK)
may correspond to the first signal format, and quadrature phase
shift keying (QPSK) may correspond to the second signal format.
BPSK (in which only 1 information bit is encoded per symbol) is
considered to be highly robust. For example, BPSK is more robust
than QPSK (in which 2 information bits are encoded per symbol). The
difference in robustness between BPSK and QPSK is related to the
difference in minimum constellation point distance between the two
modulation schemes. Generally, a larger constellation point
distance corresponds to a higher level of robustness.
[0041] As noted earlier, each BPSK symbol carries 1 fewer
information bit than each QPSK symbol. Therefore, transmitting a
request 208 according to a signal format that corresponds to BPSK
(e.g., signal format 212) will require transmitting twice as many
symbols as transmitting the request 208 according to a signal
format that corresponds to QPSK (e.g., signal format 210).
Therefore, if signal format 212 is chosen over signal format 210,
the time required to transmit the request 208 is doubled. An
increase in transmission time results in an increase in power
consumption. Accordingly, transmitting the request 208 using BPSK
consumes more battery power than transmitting the request 208 using
QPSK.
[0042] Also with respect to the different coding and modulation
schemes of the signal formats, according to another example, a code
rate of 1/3 may correspond to the second signal format (e.g.,
signal format 212), and a code rate of 2/3 may correspond to the
first signal format (e.g., signal format 210). The code rate of 1/3
(in which a total of 3 bits carry only 1 bit of useful information)
is more robust than the code rate of 2/3 (in which a total of 3
bits carry 2 bits of useful information). The difference in
robustness is related to the difference in the number of redundant
bits: 2 bits in the code rate of 1/3, versus 1 bit in the code rate
of 2/3.
[0043] As noted earlier, data encoded at a code rate of 1/3 carries
half as much useful information as data that is encoded at a code
rate of 2/3. Therefore, transmitting a request 208 that is encoded
at a code rate of 1/3 will require twice as long as transmitting
the request 208 that is encoded at a code rate of 2/3. Accordingly,
transmitting the request 208 using a code rate of 1/3 consumes more
power than transmitting the request using a code rate of 2/3.
[0044] According to aspects of the disclosure, a signal format is
selected from two or more signal formats (e.g., signal formats 210,
212) to obtain a level of robustness that is desired. At least two
of the signal formats are based on different coding and modulation
schemes. For example, a particular modulation scheme (or a
particular code rate) corresponding to a particular signal format
is effectively selected to obtain a desired level of robustness.
The desired robustness level may depend on one or more factors,
e.g., the determined path loss between the device 206 and the base
station 204. Alternatively (or in addition), the level of
robustness that is desired may depend on the transmit power
capability of the device 206.
[0045] Such aspects may be distinguishable from a situation in
which the length and coding and modulation of a random access
signal (e.g., a signal carrying a request that may be similar to
request 208) is fixed for one or more devices. In that situation,
the signal format may have been fixed to increase the likelihood
that a random access signal that is transmitted by a particular
device (e.g., the device suffering from the highest path loss) will
successfully reach the base station.
[0046] In an IoT system, the worst case path loss may be greater
than that observed in a typical phone system (e.g., GPRS). This may
be because IoT UEs may be located deep indoors and/or because IoT
UEs may remain stationary in poor coverage locations. Moreover, the
transmit power capability of an IoT UE may be weaker (e.g., than a
GPRS UE). In accordance with the situation described in the above
paragraph, in order to address the worst case scenario, a
relatively conservative coding and modulation (e.g., BPSK, rate-1/3
coding) and several times of repetition may be adopted for
transmission of the random access signal (e.g., request 208).
[0047] The above approach may lead to an unnecessarily long
transmission time for other TOT UEs (e.g., TOT UEs that do not
suffer from worst case path loss). The conservative design
described above may be appropriate for the worst case scenario, but
may be unnecessarily burdensome for other scenarios where the path
loss is not as large and the IoT UE can finish the transmission of
the random access signal (e.g., request 208) in a shorter amount of
time, thereby reducing power consumption.
[0048] In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, multiple
signal formats (e.g., signal formats 210, 212) are employed for the
random access signal (e.g., request 208) corresponding to different
coding and modulation schemes and transmission time durations. As
described earlier, transmission of the signal format 212 takes
twice as long as transmission of the signal format 210. According
to one aspect, the signal format 212 is selected by the device 206
if the path loss that it experiences is relatively large (e.g.,
larger than a threshold value). According to one aspect, the signal
format 210 is selected by the device 206 if the path loss that it
experiences is relatively small (e.g., smaller than a threshold
value).
[0049] The selected signal format may be used to send the request
for random access. For example, the device may send a request for
random access according to the selected signal format. In addition,
the selected signal format may be stored at the device to
facilitate a subsequent request for access.
[0050] The target receive power (e.g., the power at which the
request 208 is received at the base station 204) may be different
for different signal formats. The device 206 may determine which of
the multiple signal formats (e.g., signal formats 210, 212) is to
be used as a function of the measured path loss and/or the transmit
power capability of the device. According to one embodiment, the
device 206 stores information regarding path loss and/or format
selection from a previous communication session and determines the
random access signal format as a function of the stored
information. The previous communication session may have been
conducted with the base station 204.
[0051] According to aspects of the disclosure, one of several ways
to manage the time frequency resource space for the random access
signal (e.g., the request 208 of FIG. 2) may be utilized.
[0052] FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate examples of time-frequency
resource utilization.
[0053] With reference to FIG. 3(a), time-frequency resources 300
are utilized such that the random access channel resource is
partitioned into multiple, non-overlapping, blocks. Each block
corresponds to one signal format (e.g., signal format 210, 212).
Each block may have a size (e.g., number of symbols and number of
subcarriers) corresponding to a particular signal format.
[0054] For example, a request that is based on a particular signal
format (e.g., signal format 210 of FIG. 2) may be sent/received in
any of blocks 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, 302-4, 302-5, 302-6, 302-7,
302-8, each of which has a size corresponding to the signal format.
Also, a request that is based on another particular signal format
(e.g., signal format 212 of FIG. 2) may be sent/received in any of
blocks 304-2, 304-4, 304-6, each of which has a size corresponding
to that other signal format.
[0055] Accordingly, a request that is based on signal format 210
would not be sent/received in any of blocks 304-2, 304-4, 304-6,
and a request that is based on signal format 212 would not be
sent/received in any of blocks 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, 302-4, 302-5,
302-6, 302-7, 302-8. The allocations between signal formats and the
noted blocks are known at the device (e.g., device 206) and at the
base station (e.g., base station 204). As such, processing of a
receiver at the base station may be simplified. For example, the
base station may specify the allocations in a downlink broadcast
channel so that the device learns the allocations from the
broadcast channel and then selects one of the signal formats to
use.
[0056] With reference to FIG. 3(b), time-frequency resources 350
are utilized such that the random access channel resource is
partitioned into multiple, non-overlapping, blocks (e.g., blocks
352-1, 352-2, 352-3, 352-4). With reference to FIG. 3(b), any
signal format (e.g., signal format 210 or 212) can be used in any
resource block(s). Unlike the resource blocks 302, 304 of FIG.
3(a), resource blocks 352 are not a priori partitioned (e.g.,
partitioned at an earlier time) to correspond to a specific signal
format. As disclosed earlier with reference to FIG. 3(a), different
signal formats use non-overlapping resource blocks such that a
given resource block is used only by one specific signal format.
With reference to FIG. 3(b), a given resource block may be used by
signals of two or more different formats.
[0057] For example, a request that is based on a particular signal
format (e.g., signal format 210 of FIG. 2) may be sent/received in
any of blocks 352-1, 352-2, 352-3, 352-4. Also, a request that is
based on another particular signal format (e.g., signal format 212
of FIG. 2) may be sent/received in a pair of blocks (e.g., the pair
of blocks 352-1 and 352-2, the pair of blocks 352-3 and 352-4).
This utilization affords the device (e.g., device 206) more
flexibility. However, it requires that the base station (e.g., base
station 204) detect the format and then recover the signal once it
receives signals in the time-frequency resources. Accordingly, the
utilization of FIG. 3(b) has better channel resource utilization
but perhaps at the cost of increased base station receiver
complexity. To assist the base station receiver in detecting a
request for random access, a random access signal (e.g., request
208) may start with a preamble, which consists of a known waveform.
According to a further aspect, the preamble is the same for all the
formats (e.g., signal formats 210, 212).
[0058] Although aspects of the disclosure are described with
respect to IoT devices, it is understood that such aspects may be
applied to other devices/situations. For example, disclosed aspects
may be applied to situations in which a UE (e.g., a UE in a GPRS
system) sends only infrequent and small data transfers and/or in
which the UE desires (or is required to) conserve power.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a flow chart 400 of a method of operating a
device. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the device 106,
206). At 402, the device determines a path loss between the device
and the base station. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the UE
206 determines a path loss between it and a nearest base station
204. At 404, the device selects a signal format from a plurality of
signal formats. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the UE 206
selects a signal format from among signal format 210 and signal
format 212. At 406, the device selects a time and frequency
resource from a predetermined set of time and frequency resources
corresponding to the selected signal format. For example, with
reference to FIG. 3(a), the UE selects a block (e.g., block 302-1,
302-2, . . . , 302-8 or 304-2, 304-4, 304-6) corresponding to the
selected signal format. As another example, with reference to FIG.
3(b), the UE selects any one or more blocks (e.g., from among
blocks 352-1, 352-2, . . . ) as suitable for the selected signal
format. At 408, the device sends a request for random access to the
base station according to the selected signal format. For example,
with reference to FIG. 2, the UE 206 sends a request for random
access to the base station 204 according to the selected signal
format. At 410, the device stores the determined path loss to
facilitate a subsequent request for random access. Finally, at 412,
the device stores the selected signal format to facilitate a
subsequent request for random access.
[0060] FIG. 5 is a flow chart 500 of a method of operating a base
station. The method may be performed by the base station (e.g., the
base station 104, 204). At 502, the base station monitors a
predetermined set of time and frequency resources to receive a
request for random access from a device. For example, with
reference to FIGS. 2, 3(a) and 3(b), the base station 204 monitors
one or more blocks (e.g., block 302-1, 302-2, . . . , 302-8, 304-2,
304-4, 304-6, 352-1, 352-2, . . . ) to receive a request for random
access from a UE 206. At 504, the base station determines a signal
format of the request from among a plurality of signal formats. For
example, with reference to FIG. 2, the base station 204 determines
a signal format of the request from among signal format 210 and
signal format 212. With reference to FIG. 3(a), the base station
204 may determine a signal format simply on the basis of the
resource blocks of the received signal. In contrast, with reference
to FIG. 3(b), because there is no a priori partition of resource
blocks corresponding to a specific signal format, the base station
204 may try out (or test) multiple decoding possibilities in order
to determine which signal format is actually used by the request.
In this regard, the base station 204 may use a blind detection
approach. At 506, the base station recovers the request based on
the determined signal format. At 508, the base station decodes the
request based on the determined signal format. Finally, at 510, the
base station decodes the request using at least two of the
plurality of signal formats. For example, with reference to FIG. 2,
the base station 204 decodes the request using signal format 210
and signal format 212.
[0061] FIG. 6 is a conceptual data flow diagram 600 illustrating
the data flow between different modules/means/components in an
exemplary apparatus 602. The apparatus may be a UE. The apparatus
602 includes a determination module 604 that determines a path loss
between the apparatus and a base station. The determined path loss
is output to a selection module 606 and a storage module 608. The
selection module 606 selects a signal format from a plurality of
signal formats (e.g., signal formats 210 and 212 of FIG. 2). The
selected signal format is output to the storage module 608 and the
sending module 610. The selection module 606 may also select a time
and frequency resource from a predetermined set of time and
frequency resources corresponding to the selected signal format.
For example, with reference to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), the selection
module 606 selects a block corresponding to the selected signal
format.
[0062] The sending module 610 sends a request for random access to
the base station according to the selected signal format. The
storage module 608 stores the determined path loss and/or the
selected signal format to facilitate a subsequent request for
random access.
[0063] The apparatus may include additional modules that perform
each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flow
chart of FIG. 4. As such, each block in the aforementioned flow
chart of FIG. 4 may be performed by a module and the apparatus may
include one or more of those modules. The modules may be one or
more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the
stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured
to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a
computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some
combination thereof.
[0064] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example of a
hardware implementation for an apparatus 602' employing a
processing system 714. The processing system 714 may be implemented
with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 724. The
bus 724 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges
depending on the specific application of the processing system 714
and the overall design constraints. The bus 724 links together
various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware
modules, represented by the processor 704, the modules 604, 606,
608, 610, and the computer-readable medium/memory 706. The bus 724
may also link various other circuits such as timing sources,
peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits,
which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be
described any further.
[0065] The processing system 714 may be coupled to a transceiver
710. The transceiver 710 is coupled to one or more antennas 720.
The transceiver 710 provides a means for communicating with various
other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 710
receives a signal from the one or more antennas 720, extracts
information from the received signal, and provides the extracted
information to the processing system 714, specifically the
determination module 604. In addition, the transceiver 710 receives
information from the processing system 714, specifically the
sending module 610, and based on the received information,
generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 720.
The processing system 714 includes a processor 704 coupled to a
computer-readable medium/memory 706. The processor 704 is
responsible for general processing, including the execution of
software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 706. The
software, when executed by the processor 704, causes the processing
system 714 to perform the various functions described supra for any
particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 706 may
also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor
704 when executing software. The processing system further includes
at least one of the modules 604, 606, 608, 610. The modules may be
software modules running in the processor 704, resident/stored in
the computer readable medium/memory 706, one or more hardware
modules coupled to the processor 704, or some combination thereof.
The processing system 714 may be a component of the UE 106,
206.
[0066] In one configuration, the apparatus 602/602' for wireless
communication includes means for selecting (e.g., 606) a signal
format from a plurality of signal formats, each of the plurality of
signal formats corresponding to a respective coding and modulation
scheme of a plurality of coding and modulation schemes. The
apparatus further includes means for sending (e.g., 610) a request
for random access to a base station according to the selected
signal format.
[0067] In one configuration, each of the plurality of signal
formats further corresponds to a predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources.
[0068] The apparatus may further include means for selecting (e.g.,
606) a time and frequency resource from the predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources corresponding to the
selected signal format. The means for sending (e.g., 610) may be
configured to send the request for random access using the selected
time and frequency resource.
[0069] In one configuration, the apparatus may further include
means for receiving a signal from the base station (e.g., 720) and
means for recovering (e.g., 606, 704) an allocation control message
from the signal. The allocation control message specifies the
signal formats corresponding to the predetermined set of
non-overlapping time and frequency resources.
[0070] In one configuration, the plurality of signal formats
further corresponds to a predetermined set of time and frequency
resources. The apparatus may further include means for selecting
(e.g., 606) a time and frequency resource from the predetermined
set of time and frequency resources. The means for sending (e.g.,
610) may be configured to send the request for random access using
the selected time and frequency resource.
[0071] The apparatus may further include means for determining
(e.g., 604) a path loss between the apparatus and the base station.
Each of the plurality of signal formats may further correspond to a
predetermined frequency bandwidth. A respective time duration is
based on the respective coding and modulation scheme corresponding
to each of the plurality of signal formats. The means for selecting
(e.g., 606) the signal format may be configured to select the
signal format based on the path loss. The means for selecting
(e.g., 606) the signal format may also be configured to select the
signal format based on a transmission-power capability of the
apparatus.
[0072] In one configuration, the plurality of signal formats may be
for OFDMA signals or SC-FDMA signals. The respective time duration
may correspond to a predetermined number of symbols. The
predetermined frequency bandwidth may correspond to a predetermined
number of subcarriers.
[0073] In one configuration, the apparatus further includes means
for storing (e.g., 608) the determined path loss at the apparatus
to facilitate a subsequent request for random access.
[0074] In one configuration, the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to a first signal format of the plurality of signal
formats and the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to a
second signal format of the plurality of signal formats are
different from each other. The signal format may be selected such
that a robustness of the coding and modulation scheme corresponding
to the selected signal format is commensurate with the path loss
between the apparatus and the base station.
[0075] The signal format may be selected further such that, if the
path loss is less than a threshold value, the coding and modulation
scheme corresponding to the selected signal format is less robust
than the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to a second
signal format of the plurality of signal formats. The signal format
may be selected further such that, if the path loss is greater than
a threshold value, the coding and modulation scheme corresponding
to the selected signal format is more robust than the coding and
modulation scheme corresponding to a second signal format of the
plurality of signal formats.
[0076] The apparatus may further include means for storing (e.g.,
608) the selected signal format to facilitate a subsequent request
for random access.
[0077] In one configuration, the request for random access is sent
to facilitate sending of an IoT communication to the base
station.
[0078] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the
aforementioned modules of the apparatus 602 and/or the processing
system 714 of the apparatus 602' configured to perform the
functions recited by the aforementioned means.
[0079] FIG. 8 is a conceptual data flow diagram 800 illustrating
the data flow between different modules/means/components in an
exemplary apparatus 802. The apparatus may be a base station. The
apparatus 802 includes a monitoring module 804 that monitors a
predetermined set of time and frequency resources (from transceiver
850) to receive a request for random access from a device. For
example, with reference to FIGS. 2, 3(a) and 3(b), the monitoring
module 804 monitors one or more blocks (e.g., block 302-1, 302-2, .
. . , 302-8, 304-2, 304-4, 304-6, 352-1, 352-2, . . . ) to receive
a request for random access from a UE 206. The received request is
output to determination module 806. The determination module 806
determines a signal format of the request from among a plurality of
signal formats. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the
determination module 806 determines a signal format of the request
from among signal format 210 and signal format 212. The determined
signal format is output to the recovering module 808 and the
decoding module 810. The recovering module 808 recovers the request
based on the determined signal format. The recovered request may be
output to the decoding module 810. The decoding module 810 may
decode the request based on the determined signal format. The
decoding module 810 may decode the request using at least two of
the plurality of signal formats. For example, with reference to
FIG. 2, the decoding module 810 may decode the request using signal
format 210 and signal format 212.
[0080] The apparatus may include additional modules that perform
each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flow
chart of FIG. 5. As such, each block in the aforementioned flow
chart of FIG. 5 may be performed by a module and the apparatus may
include one or more of those modules. The modules may be one or
more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the
stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured
to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a
computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some
combination thereof.
[0081] FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of a
hardware implementation for an apparatus 802' employing a
processing system 914. The processing system 914 may be implemented
with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 924. The
bus 924 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges
depending on the specific application of the processing system 914
and the overall design constraints. The bus 924 links together
various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware
modules, represented by the processor 904, the modules 804, 806,
808, 810, and the computer-readable medium/memory 906. The bus 924
may also link various other circuits such as timing sources,
peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits,
which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be
described any further.
[0082] The processing system 914 may be coupled to a transceiver
910. The transceiver 910 is coupled to one or more antennas 920.
The transceiver 910 provides a means for communicating with various
other apparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 910
receives a signal from the one or more antennas 920, extracts
information from the received signal, and provides the extracted
information to the processing system 914, specifically the
monitoring module 804. In addition, the transceiver 910 may receive
information from the processing system 914, and, based on the
received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one
or more antennas 920. The processing system 914 includes a
processor 904 coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 906. The
processor 904 is responsible for general processing, including the
execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory
906. The software, when executed by the processor 904, causes the
processing system 914 to perform the various functions described
supra for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable
medium/memory 906 may also be used for storing data that is
manipulated by the processor 904 when executing software. The
processing system further includes at least one of the modules 804,
806, 808, 810. The modules may be software modules running in the
processor 904, resident/stored in the computer readable
medium/memory 906, one or more hardware modules coupled to the
processor 904, or some combination thereof. The processing system
914 may be a component of the base station 104, 204.
[0083] In one configuration, the apparatus 802/702' for wireless
communication includes means for monitoring (e.g., 804) a
predetermined set of time and frequency resources to receive a
request for random access from a device. The apparatus further
includes means for determining (e.g., 806) a signal format of the
request from among a plurality of signal formats. Each of the
plurality of signal formats corresponds to a respective coding and
modulation scheme of a plurality of coding and modulation schemes.
The apparatus further includes means for recovering (e.g., 808) the
request based on the determined signal format.
[0084] In one configuration, each of the plurality of signal
formats may further correspond to a predetermined frequency
bandwidth. A respective time duration may be based on the
respective coding and modulation scheme corresponding to each of
the plurality of signal formats.
[0085] In one configuration, each of the plurality of signal
formats may further correspond to a predetermined non-overlapping
subset of the predetermined set of time and frequency resources.
The signal format of the request may be determined from the
predetermined non-overlapping subset monitored. The apparatus may
further include means for decoding (e.g., 810) the request based on
the determined signal format.
[0086] The apparatus may further include means for decoding (e.g.,
810) the request using at least two of the plurality of signal
formats. The signal format of the request may be determined by one
of the at least two of the plurality of signal formats that
successfully decodes the request.
[0087] In one configuration, the signal format may be determined
based on at least a time at which the request is received or a
carrier frequency on which the request is received.
[0088] In one configuration, the received request may start with a
known preamble. The known preamble may be common to the plurality
of signal formats.
[0089] In one configuration, the coding and modulation scheme
corresponding to a first signal format of the plurality of signal
formats and the coding and modulation scheme corresponding to a
second signal format of the plurality of signal formats may be
different from each other.
[0090] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the
aforementioned modules of the apparatus 802 and/or the processing
system 914 of the apparatus 802' configured to perform the
functions recited by the aforementioned means.
[0091] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of
blocks in the processes/flow charts disclosed is an illustration of
exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is
understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the
processes/flow charts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may
be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present
elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant
to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
[0092] The previous description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described
herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles
defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims
are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is
to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims,
wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to
mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather
"one or more." The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving
as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described
herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as
preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically
stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more.
Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of
A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any
combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A,
multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such
as "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," and
"A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C
only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such
combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or
C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the
various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known
or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are
expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be
encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is
intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such
disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is
to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is
expressly recited using the phrase "means for."
* * * * *